a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step…

So I’m officially kicking off my fundraising campaign – I made my own donation this morning! $25 might seem like a small amount, but it makes a difference. See below for some of the things that your donations are providing for those battling blood cancers today! Even $5 or $10 adds up quickly! You can click here to make your donation today or to check on my progress. Thanks for your support!

What does a $25, $50 $100 or $1000 donation buy?

* A donation of $25 provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options.
* A donation of $50 makes possible a Family Support group with a trained facilitator where comfort can be found and experiences can be shared among patients and family members
* A donation of $100 helps supply laboratory researchers with supplies and materials critical to carrying out their search for cures.
* A donation of $1,000 makes possible one- on-one conversations with health care specialists who provide patients with information about their disease, treatment options, and helps prepare them with questions for their health care team.

On Tuesday, I attended our first TNT informational session at Runners HI in Aiea. I got to listen as Jen (our Branch Director) talked to a small group of interested runners about the events we are recruiting for this season, the program itself, fundraising, training, etc. As she got to the part where she talked about her personal reason to be involved, she asked the crowd to raise their hands if they had a friend or loved one affected by blood cancers, and almost every hand in the room went up.

I get pretty wrapped up in the training when I get involved with TNT but sometimes I forget just how much of an impact our fundraising has on cancer research in general. Another thing that Jen mentioned was that because of direct funding from TNT (government funding had been cut off), one of our researchers came up with a medication (Gleevec) that is a virtual cure from one type of Leukemia, CML. Below is the story of Virginia Garner, a CML survivor whose cancer is now in remission! I love these reminders of just what all of our hard work is actually doing in the fight against blood cancers.

Virginia Garner is a blood cancer patient who became part of the LLS family when she was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). She is now a First Connection volunteer, a vocal member of her local CML Support Group, active in the Light The Night Walk “CML BUSTERS”, a mentor through Team In Training, involved in presentations through the School & Youth program and just an incredible resource! Here is a recent note from Virginia:

Ten years ago today (April 19, 2009) I sat in an examination room at UCLA as a participant in a clinical trial where I swallowed my first Gleevec pills. It’s hard to believe that all that time has passed. I remember having the pills in one hand and a cup of water in the other and chatting with Dr. Sawyers, Ginny the nurse, Van my husband, and Connie my sister-in-law until they lost patience and demanded that I swallow the pills. When I did, there was a hush in the room that I’ll never forget. I interpreted it as everyone there wondering what would happen next: Would my eyeballs fall out? Would my arms fall off? Would I descend into uncontrollable fits of coughing? Of course, what did happen was absolutely nothing, except that I walked out of that room armed with a new hope and on the road to complete molecular remission of the CML that had ravaged my body. That’s a pretty big nothing, huh?

For over two years now, my follow up tests have come back showing no detectable cancer cells, and I live a full and productive life full of energy and joie de vivre. These days I gratefully dedicate my time to others going through cancer treatment, whether it is by sharing my story with patients or fundraising for cancer research. I have the hope that one day all cancers will be obliterated, and more people can live a satisfying and full existence like me. Life is good!

ok, so running 15 miles a week is nothing compared to what i’ll need to build up to for the half marathon on october 18. but hey, it’s a lot more than i was doing a couple weeks ago and it’s a good start.(more…)

yesterday sheryl and i decided to do the diamond head loop, but since it was such a HOT day i told her we needed to wait until 6 before setting out. the timing was perfect! the sun was still out, but low enough in the sky to let the cool breezes blow, especially on the back side of diamond head when we passed the surf lookouts. we took the 4.5 mile run counter-clockwise, so when we were heading back down from KCC, i really enjoyed the sunset view over waikiki. a simply gorgeous time to run! =)

yesterday i moved for the sixth time in five months! whew. but the best part is that i’m RIGHT NEXT to kapiolani park, which is perfect for training! i’m just getting settled, but i’m hoping to make this my new home for the forseeable future, so i’m enjoying (as jess would call it) “nesting”.

you may have noticed that this blog also found a new home on wordpress.com. blogspot was not as user-friendly as i’d hoped, and with a few minor kinks (i can’t get my nikeplus widget to show up in wordpress – no embeds allowed! boo!) things are getting settled here as well.

the training season begins june 6, so it’s time to start getting ready! woo hoo! thanks for joining me along the way…

but the good news is that i’m moving, and i’ll be living right next to kapiolani park and diamond head, which is one of my favorite runs. i will have no excuse!!

i can’t believe it’s may already! the team in training season kicks off officially on june 6 with our first group run for the nike women’s marathon. i’m excited to meet the team this year and see who’s returning. in the next couple of weeks there will be informational meetings and other TNT events, so i’ll keep you posted!